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The Chief Justice of India (CJI) SA Bobde on Monday, 1 March, asked a government employee if he would marry the woman who has accused him of repeatedly raping her.
The Supreme Court was hearing the bail request of Mohit Subhash Chavan, a technician with the Maharashtra State Electric Production Company, reported NDTV. He was accused of raping a schoolgirl and faces charges under the severe POCSO (Protection of Children from Sexual Offences) Act.
According to Bar and Bench, Bobde asked the petitioner, 'Will you marry her?', adding:
The counsel for the petitioner replied:
The court granted interim protection to the accused for four weeks and asked him to apply for regular bail.
Chavan, the accused, reportedly used to follow the then 16-year-old girl on her way to school. The survivor is also a distant relative of the accused.
He allegedly raped the survivor after he tied her hands and legs, the first time. The accused repeated the crime 10-12 times, when the survivor was in class nine, reported Bar and Bench.
The survivor was stopped from filing a police complaint after the accused's mother promised that he would marry her. While some reports say she refused to marry him after turning 18, others maintain that he refused – prompting her to go to court.
Social media users took to Twitter to express that ‘marrying the rapist’ does nothing but harm and is more of a ‘reward than punishment.’
(With inputs from NDTV, Bar and Bench.)
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Published: 01 Mar 2021,04:52 PM IST